City finalizing Bay Meadows design plan

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The Planning Commission has devoted several meetings this fall to hashing out the design guidelines for Bay Meadows Phase II, a redevelopment plan that would bring 1,250 new homes, plus retail and office space, to the 83-acre racetrack site.

The agency is preparing to vote on those guidelines Nov. 28, paving the way for developers to come forward with applications for specific segments of the project.

"We want to create something that looks like it fits in with the rest of the Peninsula," said Keith Orlesky, project manager for developers Wilson Meany Sullivan. "We’re creating a new neighborhood in a place that’s cut off from the rest of the city.

The Planning Commission’s study sessions resolved a number of concerns, such as the mix of neighborhood retailers in the "town plaza" or the varying three- to five-story building heights near the 10-acre community park, according to commissioner Bertha Sanchez.

"The majority felt that taller heights facing the park would be a good framework, although I wasn’t one of them," said Sanchez.

Commissioners also pressed the Bay Meadows Land Company to consider planning the future 29th Avenue so that it could someday connect with Yates Way, even though the parcel between the two is currently privately owned, according to Sanchez. Other topics, such as whether the new neighborhood will commemorate the site’s history, were not included in the guidelines.

"We thought that the naming conventions for the streets and parks should reflect the history of the parcel," said Mike Germano, president of the Beresford/Hillsdale Neighborhood Association.

That, and the possibility of creating a monument in honor of the racetrack, were discussed during the study sessions, but the historic dedication will be addressed separately, according to City Planner Darcy Forsell.